All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Steroids help only certain COVID-19 patients, Pa. expert explains

New studies show that treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with inexpensive steroids can cut their risk of dying from the illness by a third. The results are so clear that the World Health Organization changed its advice on Sept. 2 and now strongly recommends corticosteroids as a first-line treatment for the sickest patients.

Steroids aren’t risk-free, however. They can have side effects, and they could do more harm than good in patients with milder cases of COVID-19.

 

Source: Steroids help only certain COVID-19 patients, Pa. expert explains

School that Boris Johnson visited to show was ‘safe’ closes due to coronavirus days after visit | The New European

A school Boris Johnson visited days ago to promote children returning to education has closed after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus.

 

Source: School that Boris Johnson visited to show was ‘safe’ closes due to coronavirus days after visit | The New European

Two Justice Systems In Black and White — We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident

I originally blogged about these cases on Dec. 7, 2013. Since then, there has been additional information, including the filing of and decision in a civil lawsuit. Both cases are in the State of Illinois but different counties about 27 miles apart. When committing the crimes, all defendants in both cases were residents of the […]

Two Justice Systems In Black and White — We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident

Likud activist arrested for threats against prosecutor in Netanyahu cases – The Jerusalem Post

A well-known Likud activist has been arrested under suspicion of threatening Liat Ben-Ari, the prosecutor in the cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Ynet. In a letter sent to Ben-Ari, the activist wrote that “we will harass you until you kill yourself. This is your end.”

Source: Likud activist arrested for threats against prosecutor in Netanyahu cases – The Jerusalem Post

Colorado School Suspends and Calls Resource Officers on Black 12-Year-Old Over Toy Gun Seen During Virtual Class

At the end of the day, Black children are disproportionately vulnerable to harsh discipline for petty offenses and are by far the most likely to have resource officers called on them when they’re physically in school. You would think they’d be safe from that kind of implicit bias when attending class from the confines of their own homes. But it seems we’re just adding another thing to the list of things you can’t do while Black.

Source: Colorado School Suspends and Calls Resource Officers on Black 12-Year-Old Over Toy Gun Seen During Virtual Class

Hungarian researcher wins award for procedure that could cure blindness | News | DW | 07.09.2020

Hungarian researcher Botond Roska gestures after accepting the Körber award in Hamburg (picture-alliance/dpa/A. Heimken)

Professor Botond Roska, who works in the Swiss city of Basel, has uncovered a gene-based therapy that reprograms cells in the human eye so that they can perform the work of the light-sensitive receptors needed for human vision, according to the Körber Foundation that hands out the annual prize. It is hoped the procedure will reactivate the retinas of the blind. The medical scientist said that, for the time being, the process creates a level of vision similar to watching television in black and white. Clinical tests on blind volunteers are already underway as a result of the Budapest-born researcher’s groundbreaking work.

Source: Hungarian researcher wins award for procedure that could cure blindness | News | DW | 07.09.2020

NYU’s COVID-19 Reopening Plan Fuels “Inequality And Injustice,” Faculty And Staff Warn – Gothamist

Rebecca Karl, who teaches history at the university, said it felt as if the school was pressuring contract faculty and Ph. D. candidates, who are considered vulnerable since they live in the areas hit hard by COVID-19 and rely on public transportation, to teach in-person this year while tenured faculty, like herself, were given the option to choose if they wanted to teach remotely or not.

“We were very uncomfortable with that kind of inequality and injustice on campus,” she said.

Source: NYU’s COVID-19 Reopening Plan Fuels “Inequality And Injustice,” Faculty And Staff Warn – Gothamist

The coronavirus chaos is caused by one person: Netanyahu – comment – The Jerusalem Post

Placing the blame on members of the opposition is a sad attempt at what most people learn in elementary school: take responsibility for your actions. Don’t run away from it.

Just look at what has happened only since last Thursday. That day, the coronavirus cabinet approved a lockdown on “red” cities, which was supposed to go into effect on Monday. Netanyahu was supposed to convene his ministers on Sunday and finalize the plans, but he came under pressure from his haredi (ultra-Orthodox) coalition partners, threatening him with political backlash. Their campaign included a letter from four heads of haredi towns, who said that they would not go along with the new restrictions if they were imposed.

That was enough for Netanyahu – who recognized he could lose the last coalition partner he has – to do a flip-flop. It was also enough for him to take the plan put together by the country’s coronavirus commissioner, Prof. Ronni Gamzu, and simply throw it out the window.

That it had the support of the Health Ministry and had already been approved in the cabinet meant nothing. Politics was calling.

Source: The coronavirus chaos is caused by one person: Netanyahu – comment – The Jerusalem Post